Trying to Stay Out of Other People’s Way With Peanuts
“I got a lot of problems with my back from when I fell 35 feet and hit concrete,” Robert said. “I’ve also got asthma and a ventilator.”
Despite being homeless, Robert says he can go to Hopes or Record street to find help if he feels he’s in trouble.
Before he called Reno home, Robert lived in various places in California, Oregon, and Washington.
“But I’ve been here maybe 40 years in Reno,” Robert said. “I've been here since 1979.”
Robert just celebrated his 60 birthday on January 31st and was content to just celebrate with his cat Peanuts.
“I got a lot of love in my life,” Robert said. “I’ve had her for 14 years and she was a little handful, I always had to keep an eye on her because that's a bad ass cat.”
He says he used to have to keep Peanuts on a leash, as she wasn’t afraid of other animals on the street and would even get into scuffles with dogs. But now Peanuts just stays with Robert at his camp, having recently become blind.
Finding Help in Different Places
One organization that has recently helped Robert is the New Life Christian Center, where he says he just became a member in January. They helped Robert get a new ID.
“My pastor Angelo down there, he's a good pastor,” Robert said. “I go to the Sunday morning [services] and everything, they’re good people.”
Now that Robert has an ID, he plans on getting disability payments, finding a place to live and getting off the street.
In the meantime, he proudly shows off a heart wrapped around a letter L made of red tinsel left over from Christmas. It's pinned up on the chain-link fence next to his camp. He says it serves as a daily reminder to stick to his mantra of “Love the Lord.”
“Wherever you lay your head is where you lay your head,” Robert said. “And God loves you, just like he loves me.”
If he gets his own place, Robert says he plans to continue pretty much keeping to himself.
“My long-term goals are getting a place and just being a hermit,” Robert said. “I don't hang around people that much. I go to church where I hang around people but that’s about as many as I’ll get.”
With all the recent upheaval and change right now, Robert had a simple message to share with the world.
“You should all have a nice time in your own life,” Robert said. “Don’t bother people or look down on people.”